Letters

The second article to appear in the journal on the shortcomings of
male Go players prompts me to reply to the criticism that both women
proffer: namely that the Go-man is a boring monomaniac.

Pooling our many other interests, the men at our club could discuss
anything from Buxtehude to Bonaventure des Périers in a pub or at
a party. But at a Go tournament one topic is all important, I want to
lament the tenuki that lost a war, and play fair by listening to other
Go-mens campaigns.

Go is a form of escapism as defensible as reading fiction. It takes
one away from the sordid absurdities of simultaneous food mountains and
famine.

Deference to other topics and to small-talk should not be sought at
a tournament. For one precious weekend we want to maintain a fiction. To
drag in other topics is as considerate as asking someone how they feel
about the Common Market when theyre in the middle of a good novel.

Men generally keep to this tacit view that go can peak into
all-importance. Why not women? Soames Forsyte nutshelled it when he
advised a younger man (too late to be of avail to himself) that
"Women like to be talked to." Herein lies male superiority: sorry
girls, we can answer that need, but dont share it.

To be fair, Ill point out before you do, that my wife plays Go.
However at a tournament or on the way home from the local Go club there
is only one imaginable topic of conversation.

I travelled from Kent to play in the recent Bracknell Tournament. I
arrived in good time, since, having not entered in advance, I was to be
counted as a late entrant, with (according to advance publicity) either
the possibility of a bye or a £1.50 surcharge. Eventually
registration started. I wasnt the first to spot this, so there were
other late entrants ahead of me on the list. Then it was explained that
lunch might not be available for late entrants, so I wasn't given a
ticket.

Having duly paid the entry fee and surcharge (no refund for no
lunch). I played the first round and won. My reward - a lunch
ticket - which nobody in the canteen wanted to see! After lunch I
duly played round 2, reported my result, and even did byo-yomi for a
neighbouring table. By now the gap between rounds had stretched to over
an hour, only mitigated by the F.A. Cup Final on the TV In the bar.

Finally the draw for the 3rd round was announced, but my name was
missing. Subsequent investigation showed that as 3rd and last late
entrant, it was my turn for a bye. Fighting back my disappointment, I
remembered the advance publicity - bye OR surcharge. I sought the
organiser, claimed my £1.50 and left, disgruntled.

I dont think Ill bother next year.

Trivia?

As mentioned in a recent GW, 5000 Go sets are sold in Britain each
year. Ignoring the theory that this is the work of someone with a
peculiar fetish, we have been trying to trace this lost tribe of Go
players.

This is the result of our investigations:

Steve Davis - thought to be a good Kyu player

Cyclops - became extinct due to tendency to form only one eye.

Rengo Starr - used to play Go in a group.

Ko Stark - keeps taking them off.

Captain Kirk - known for boldly Go-ing.

Desperate Dan - used to bite off too much, but still managed
to eat it.

Harry Kiri

This article is from the
British Go Journal
Issue 65
which is one of a series of back issues now available on the web.